Brandon Grimm, Ph.D., to receive national public health award

For his contributions to public health scholarship, Brandon Grimm, Ph.D., associate dean, public health practice, College of Public Health, will be awarded the Academic Public Health Practice Excellence Award from the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH).

The national award recognizes graduate public health faculty who advance and integrate the scholarship of practice-based service, teaching and research for public health. ASPPH represents schools and programs accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health.

Dr. Grimm, who also is the interim director of master’s programs in public health and associate professor of health promotion, will be presented the award at the annual ASPPH meeting March 21.

Dean Ali S. Khan, M.D., M.P.H., praised Dr. Grimm’s accomplishments. “Brandon’s work in our communities and with our state and local health departments is truly transformational.”

As associate dean, Dr. Grimm was part of a group responsible for the new student-centered and practice-based curriculum, which integrates theory and applied experience to equip students with knowledge and skills to be leaders in public health.

Before there was even a College of Public Health, Dr. Grimm taught public health courses at UNMC. He co-founded UNMC’s Great Plains Leadership Institute 15 years ago and built it into one of the premier training programs in the country. The institute has graduated more than 275 scholars from the central states.

One nominator wrote that “Brandon is a humble, servant leader, committed to enhancing the workforce’s capacity to improve the public’s health. When it comes to practice-based service, Dr. Grimm amazes me at his commitment.”

He is the past president of the Public Health Association of Nebraska, established and leads the Nebraska Public Health Practice Council, serves on the board of the Sarpy/Cass Health Department, and serves on numerous workgroups and committees across the state and region. He is the affiliate representative to the governing council of the American Public Health Association.

Recently, Dr. Grimm established a formal agreement to create an academic health department with the Nebraska State Department of Health and Human Services to provide enhanced collaborations and richer, practice-based experiences for UNMC students to advance health in Nebraska.

Dr. Grimm praised the people he has worked with over the years.

“I have had amazing mentors and an amazing team in the office of public health practice, and a commitment from Dr. Khan to advance practice. I am very proud of the work we do.”